


Domestication

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animal Shelter, Dog Hybrid Byun Baekhyun, Hybrids, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Piercings, Shapeshifting, Smut, Tattoos, Vet Assistant Park Chanyeol, Veterinary Clinic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:33:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22050358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Prompt C006:Chanyeol is a biker who works at an animal shelter. While out riding the town one night, he spots a rough-looking stray dog and decides to rescue it. That is, if this dog will let him.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 11
Kudos: 139
Collections: EXZOO : Third Round





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!  
> First of all, I'd like to apologize for taking so long and still not being able to give you a completed story. Life has been really hectic and not really good, unfortunately, and when life is like that, it takes a toll on the writing. I promise I'm very much trying my best to finish this as soon as possible, quite a bit is already written and only needed to be connected and expanded a bit upon, but writing has been and still is hard.  
> Secondly, thank you to the mods for not giving up on me, I'm sorry for the mess I'm sure I've been causing, but thank you for your patience!  
> Third... I really loved this prompt when I saw it, and I still really do love it, and the story, even though it's contributed to my exhaustion, so I hope you'll be able to see it in the story. I want to feel proud of this in the end, and I probably set myself back a little by rewriting large part of it during the extension, but I can promise you that the result is better and just, yeah? I hope you'll all enjoy it!  
> (Also, how does animal shelters/vet clinics work? Literally no idea)
> 
> (As of now, it's set to 6 chapters, but this might change. After I rewrote most of the second half of the first chapter, I realized I had to add another chapter, so that might happen later on too, I might need to split one chapter into two, but I'll try to keep this as updated as possible (and get the chapters out as quickly as possible))

Chanyeol loved his job. Not only did he get to hang out with animals all day long, he also got to help them with whatever problem they had, and that, _that_ , was amazing. Plus the fact that no one cared about his piercings and tattoos, didn’t judge him based on them, so that’s amazing too.

Sure, there were bad parts about his job at the Elyxion animal shelter as well, like when they received an animal having sustained too great injuries that the most humane option was to put them down, but most of the time it was just pure awesomeness.

Especially the _cuddles._

“Come on, DaeDae, I need to get this done,” Chanyeol complained, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice as he looked down at the purring, grey mess of a cat sprawled out in his lap, front paws stretched out to hold on to his left arm and making it impossible for Chanyeol to finish up the report he was writing. “I swear, give me five minutes and I’ll cuddle the living shit out of you!”

Even though Jongdae was actually one of the few animals you could barter with at the shelter, it rarely ever worked. He might be a shapeshifter, able to switch between animal and hybrid form, but that did _not_ mean that he was easier to bribe than any of the full-time animals.

So, of course, Chanyeol ended up cuddling the grey cat until Jongdae decided that it was enough and promptly removed himself from Chanyeol’s embrace, and Chanyeol finally managed to fill out the report. Staying after his shift because Jongdae was a greedy fucker. Not that Chanyeol minded, really. Like, at all.

“Are you on night shift duty?” Chanyeol asked in confusion as he peeked into Doctor Zhang’s office as he was about to head out, having seen the lights being on and being _rather_ sure that Doctor Lu was actually the one supposed to be there now.

“Uh, no…,” Doctor Zhang slowly said, looking somewhat as if he’d been caught red-handed. Chanyeol really wasn’t surprised, having long ago learned that Doctor Zhang was hardworking to the point of it being actually unhealthy sometimes.

“Then maybe you should head home?” Chanyeol suggested, mildly amused yet also with a hint of sterness to his voice.

“I probably should, and I don’t think it’ll be much longer before I’ll be physically dragged out of here,” Doctor Zhang said, pointedly looking down at the wolf-dog lying curled up next to his desk. “He’s been moody for the last hour or so, he’ll probably lose his patience soon.”

“Bless his fluffy heart for attempting to make you take care of yourself,” Chanyeol snorted, before raising a hand in goodbye. “See you tomorrow!”

“Be careful on your way home!” Doctor Zhang called after him, just like every other day they managed to exchange goodbyes before Chanyeol headed home.

Doctor Zhang didn’t quite understand Chanyeol’s preference for straddling roaring beasts and riding them around, and had a tendency to worry about his safety instead. It wasn’t completely unwarranted, because riding motorcycles could be very dangerous, but so far Chanyeol had managed to stay completely safe, and always aimed for continuing to stay so. Gods knows that his mother would without a doubt kill him if he ever was involved in a major accident, and she would _for sure_ bring him back to life just to be able to kill him once more if he was involved in a fatal accident. Two things he’d want to avoid as much as possible.

Still somewhat high on the endorphins of petting a purring cat, Chanyeol whistled as he almost _skipped_ his way over to his bike, a smile on his face. Yeah, he kind of really loved his job…

Chanyeol really enjoyed zooming down the streets too, able to weave in and out of traffic and not get _too_ stuck in the rush traffic as everyone was trying to get home at once. Of course he was careful about it, but he felt rather gleeful because of the glares he received, pulling his lips into a wider grin. Many described him as a sweet-hearted baby, and they weren’t wrong - but that didn’t mean that Chanyeol didn’t enjoy lowkey pissing people off sometimes too.

It was as he got closer to a certain park that Chanyeol slowed down a little, matching the (non-existent) speed of the rest of the flow of vehicles, gaze scanning the alleys. It would’ve been easier if it’d been the same alley every time, but what he was looking for had a tendency to move around a bit, though always staying in the same area.

Fur ranging across almost the entire grey spectrum appeared in Chanyeol’s field of view, and he could not help but exhale in relief as he caught sight of the shaggy stray.

It had been a few weeks, two or three, now since Chanyeol had first caught sight of the dog. It had been late, Chanyeol having stayed at the shelter for longer to help with a severely injured and rather traumatized bunny, so by the time he was finally on his way home, it had been dark outside. Having absently looked around, to keep an eye on his surroundings, Chanyeol had almost flipped his bike from how hard he braked at the sight of something furry slinking past beneath the yellow light of a streetlamp. He’d only gotten a glimpse back then, nothing more, but he’d kept an eye on the area every time he drove past, and a few days later he’d caught sight of the stray again.

And for a while now, he’d been debating trying to get close to the stray. Chanyeol didn’t think that living on the streets in the middle of Seoul was something anyone, human or animal, should have to endure, and so he wanted to help. He just did not quite know _how_ to do it, and if the stray would even allow him.

It was one thing with a smaller animal, like a cat or something like that, but an entirely different thing when it was a massive dog that honestly didn’t look that much smaller than a certain wolf-dog Chanyeol knew very well - including knew very well how _heavy_ he was. It wasn’t as if Chanyeol could just pick it up and carry it to the shelter. He would probably get a chunk of his flesh removed trying to do that, and Chanyeol kind of liked his flesh where it was!

So yes, Chanyeol was having some troubles about what to do, and had to figure it out. Maybe he should try to get close with some nice treats or something? See if he could get a quick overview of the stray, and if he should put more effort into the whole deal?

That sounded like a plan, maybe, Chanyeol thought, nodding to himself as he continued on his drive. Maybe tomorrow? He had the day off, and then he could plan some more, another few hours wouldn’t hurt, right?

The clock was getting close to half past ten when Chanyeol realized that the faint drizzle of rain was shaping up to become something more, something worse. He probably would’ve realized it sooner, had he checked the weather, but he hadn’t.

By the time eleven struck, the wind had picked up considerably. Standing in front of his living room window, arms crossed over his chest and lower lip between his teeth, Chanyeol stared out into the dark storm rolling in over the city. Maybe those few hours would hurt after all… What if something was going to happen to the stray now? Would it be able to find adequate shelter? Or was it going to suffer in the rain and wind, while Chanyeol was staying warm and worried inside, not having decided to do anything that afternoon?

It wasn’t as if Chanyeol didn’t worry about the stray animals stuck outside otherwise, but having started to invest emotionally in _this_ particular stray, actually looking for it and having decided to try to help, it just made things so much worse. He kind of wanted to run outside and make sure the stray was okay, but that would be stupid. He wasn’t really that close to the alleys where he had seen the stray, and he didn’t even know if the stray would be there now either.

Maybe it had found somewhere else to stay during horrible weather? Maybe it had found shelter somewhere? Then Chanyeol would just stumble around outside in a storm, probably getting himself sick and ending up in the hospital out of sheer stupidity, and that wouldn’t help anyone!

“It’s going to be okay, right?” Chanyeol muttered to himself, trying to make himself feel better. “There’s nothing I can do now anyway, better to just go to bed and then deal with it tomorrow…”

But of course Chanyeol couldn’t help himself - he laid awake most of the night, only managing to fall into a fitful sleep in the early morning light. And when he woke up a handful of hours later, he was too restless to stay in bed, even though it was his day off and he could technically sleep for as long as he wanted to.

He was just a bit too worried to do that.

Pulling on a pair of jeans and a hoodie, he then went to his bathroom to brush his teeth and splash some water in his face to lose some of the grogginess. Grogginess and traffic - especially when handling a large, two-wheeled machine - was not the best combination, after all. Hopefully the traffic wouldn’t be too bad, and the wind should wake him up even more, Chanyeol hoped.

All done, Chanyeol made his way out into the kitchen, picking up his backpack as he went. Right now, he wasn’t really feeling hungry, worry and lack of sleep making his stomach feel all twisted and upset, but he knew he’d need to eat something in a while, at least. Plus, he probably should bring something nice for the stray, too, to maybe help lure it out.

If he could find it, that was. But better come prepared for the stray being there than not!

Digging through his entire kitchen, basically, Chanyeol managed to find some nice dog-friendly treats, throwing them all into his backpack. Alongside that he threw in a bottle of water, some protein bars that had miraculously not passed their best before date yet (even though they were from back when Chanyeol had been a tad bit obsessed with going to the gym, and that had been a while ago now), and a metal bowl left over after the hellish weekend he had taken care of Vivi and Candy. Chanyeol loved animals, no doubt about it, but those two dogs were some of the most spoiled beings on the planet, and holy shit… Just no.

Looking around himself and deciding that he seemed to have everything needed, and if he didn’t he’d just have to find a store, Chanyeol headed over to the hallway, patting himself down to make sure he had everything with him. He had to take two trips back into the apartment - first to get his phone, and then to get his keys - but in the end he managed to get into his boots and his leather jacket, and out through the door, helmet in hand.

The streets were pretty calm and the air felt refreshing and nice as Chanyeol drove towards his destination, helping with his tiredness. Speeding through rain-cleansed winds was honestly a pretty nice rush normally, but today Chanyeol just couldn’t appreciate it as he normally would, too worried about other things related to the rain. Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before he reached the area where he had seen the stray, hopefully being a bit closer to helping.

Looking for the best place to park his bike, Chanyeol decided on the park across the street from the alleys he had seen the stray frequent. There was a parking lot, and it wouldn’t look too strange if he parked there, so it seemed like the best plan.

Okay, maybe it would seem a bit strange parking by a park this early in the morning, but whatever! It would probably be fine!

Pulling into the parking lot and coming to a stop, Chanyeol turned the engine off and got off of the bike. Taking his helmet off, he dragged a hand through his hair, trying to get it into some semblance of an order, but pretty quickly abandoning that quest. He was pretty sure he had a beanie shoved into the depths of his backpack…

After making sure neither his bike nor helmet would get stolen when he was away, and finding said beanie, Chanyeol slung his backpack over a shoulder and began to briskly make his way towards the alleys to start his search.

It took him intense searching through two alleys, fifteen minutes, and a sinking heart before Chanyeol arrived by the third alley. He almost felt like throwing his hands into the air and whooping as he finally caught sight of the stray, but he managed to hold himself back. He’d most certainly end up scaring the poor animal, and he didn’t want to do that. That was actually completely counterproductive to what he was there to do, no matter how happy he was about having found it seemingly alive and well.

The stray seemed to notice Chanyeol about around the same time as Chanyeol noticed it, turning its entire body in his direction, sharp gaze following his every move. It wasn’t until Chanyeol got close enough to catch the glinting in the dog’s ears that he started to suspect that maybe this stray dog wasn’t as much _dog_ as he’d originally thought. Or maybe it was actually fully dog and had been subjected to cruelty for humans’ entertainment or perverse need to torture defenceless animals. That would explain the hunkered and prepared stance and the bared teeth, accompanied by a low, warning growl.

Either way, it didn’t really matter. It was a stray, and Chanyeol was there to try to take care of it.

“Hey, little buddy, no need to get all defensive,” Chanyeol softly said, slowly lowering himself to the ground to minimize the perceived threat. “I promise you I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to help. A friendly neighborhood giant, kinda!”

The stray wasn't impressed in the least, staying in defensive position, though its growling lowered in volume. That was something at least, Chanyeol figured.

“I have some treats?” Chanyeol offered instead, as slowly as possible bringing his backpack forwards to put in front of him, pausing whenever the growl turned louder. “Don’t know if you’ll like them, but I’m pretty sure they’re better than most of the things you can find here?”

As Chanyeol reached into the backpack and pulled the bag of snacks out, the stray stopped growling, instead starting to sniff the air. It seemed to realize it might be something good, taking a hesitant step forwards, and Chanyeol could not help but grin in victory.

“Ah, I see, I see, you’re not immune to treats, huh?” Chanyeol gently taunted, opening the bag and rustling it a little. “Will you allow me to win your trust and heart through bite-sized yummies, little buddy?”

Immediately, the stray sat down, tail flicking just barely, both very attentive and somewhat hesitant. For now, at least, everything seemed all good.

“Keeping our distance, are we?” Chanyeol mumbled, picking up a treat before throwing it in the direction of the stray. “Here you go, enjoy!”

Moving with a speed Chanyeol really shouldn’t have been surprised about, the stray sprung up to literally snatch the treat straight out of the air, then sitting down again to calmly munch on it. All done, the stray tilted its head, tongue lolling out, as its tail began to move a bit more. It seemed almost as pleased as Chanyeol felt, and he couldn’t suppress a delighted snicker as he moved to throw another treat.

As Chanyeol continued to throw treats, he tried to evaluate the stray’s general condition. It seemed rather fine, with great mobility and no apparent signs of starvation, only about as skinny as to be expected from someone living on the streets. The fur didn’t seem too matted, either, if a bit dull, but nothing too worrying in Chanyeol’s somewhat semi-professional opinion.

The ears were a solid black, except for two places where white cut through all of the darkness, looking almost like scars. The head had the markings of a wolf, but so much darker, and with the lighter areas it looked a bit as if someone had messed around with the contrast slider almost too much after having made the stray greyscale.

This continued down the stray’s body, with its underside being so very pale compared to the black and dark grey of the rest, markings not well-blended at all. And Chanyeol couldn’t help but think of another, though paler, fur, with too distinct markings telling of his parentage. Could this be similar?

“Well, you’re a boy puppy, that much I can tell,” Chanyeol mumbled to himself. “Not castrated… I really hope you haven’t been too wild, buddy, and have a ton of pups running around somewhere. That’s a lowkey shitty dad move, not gonna lie.”

The stray continued to nom on the latest treat it had caught, either uncaring of or not understanding Chanyeol’s words. Chanyeol couldn’t quite pinpoint which it was, still not sure if he was dealing with an animal or a hybrid shapeshifter.

Having apparently finished the treat, the stray gave a bark, startling Chanyeol out of his thoughts.

“What, you want more?” Chanyeol asked, laughing as he noticed how the stray’s tail was going back and forth - though it hadn’t moved any closer to him. “I think it’s enough for now, don’t want to upset your tummy, buddy. Sorry. But I can give you more tomorrow?”

The stray tilted its head, tongue lolling out again, as if asking what Chanyeol meant. It was honestly pretty darn adorable, Chanyeol’s heart kind of lowkey melting.

“I was planning on checking up on you today, to make sure you were okay, especially after the storm last night,” Chanyeol explained as he began to pack the treats back down into his backpack, remembering about the water and the bowl as he did so. “Oh, right, water! Important, hold on a second! But yeah, I was just going to check on you, and you seem to be doing fine, but I’d like to come back and keep an eye on you. Maybe we’ll get friendly enough that you’ll let me help you? Anyway, here’s some water, please drink it all up. Do you even have access to fresh water _not_ containing nasty stuff?”

As he had been talking, Chanyeol had been pouring the water into the bowl, setting it down on the ground and pushing it forwards as far as he could reach. When done, he scooted himself backwards a little bit, hopefully enough for the stray to feel comfortable about going forwards to drink.

Looking at Chanyeol and then at the bowl, the stray slowly took the required steps, keeping Chanyeol in sight at all times. Hesitantly, it sniffed at the water, lapping once as if to make sure that it was safe, before seemingly concluding that it was okay and starting to drink properly.

Starting to feel his worries and his nerves unwind, Chanyeol realized he was getting a bit hungry. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out one of the protein bars and opened it, freezing in place as the stray’s head flew up, lips pulling back to bare teeth and fur dripping with water.

“Hey, calm down! It’s just a protein bar for me, I’m hungry too!” Chanyeol hurried to say, holding up the offending object to let the stray see that it was completely harmless.

Slowly, the stray began to relax, getting back to the drinking but still managing to keep an eye on Chanyeol. As carefully as possible, wincing at every crackle of plastic, Chanyeol managed to get his food open enough to be able to eat it.

A few minutes later, almost all of the water was gone, and Chanyeol was about halfway through nibbling on his protein bar, when the stray stood up and began to stretch. Throwing one last look at Chanyeol, it then gave a bark and turned around, trotting down the alley and out of sight.

“Y-yeah, see you tomorrow!” Chanyeol belatedly called out, before picking up the bowl and putting it back into his backpack.

There was a happy smile on his face as he got up on his feet and headed for his motorcycle - that had gone pretty well, after all!


	2. Chapter 2

The next day found Chanyeol with Doctor Lu, helping the veterinarian throughout their joint shift. Doctor Lu was the funnier of the two head veterinarians and co-owners of the shelter, even if he was the older one, and Chanyeol thoroughly enjoyed working with him.

The fact that both Jongdae and Minseok, the cat hybrid mascots of Elyxion, were adopted by Doctor Lu and had a tendency to join them sometimes just made it even better.

“Did you have a nice day yesterday?” Doctor Lu asked as they were wandering through the shelter in between appointments, checking in on their patients. “You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Oh, yeah, I did, actually,” Chanyeol said, grinning widely. “I found a stray dog a while back, and after the storm two days ago I decided to finally approach and check on it. It didn’t allow me to get too close, but it did accept some treats and water. I’m going to visit today too, after my shift, and maybe I’ll be able to make some progress and get even closer!”

“You know, it’s really not that hard to imagine you with a tail wagging back and forth,” Doctor Lu joked, motioning towards Chanyeol’s head. “You almost already got the ears, too. Are you _sure_ there’s not some hybrid blood in you?”

Flustered, Chanyeol covered his ears. “Excuse you, I’m just a little bit excitable… Nothing more to it…”

“So cute,” Doctor Lu cooed, a big grin on his face as Chanyeol began to protest. “It’s not strange at all that you feel a calling for vet medicine, it’s like you’re kindred spirits and you need to take care of them all.”

“Maybe, that doesn’t sound too impossible…,” Chanyeol mumbled, shrugging a little as he scratched the back of his head. “I just really like helping…”

“Which is a good thing, but remember that you can’t actually help them all,” Doctor Lu said, smile softening into something more gentle and careful. “Not everyone will allow you to, and not everyone is safe to help.”

“Now you’re sounding like Doctor Zhang,” Chanyeol teased, chuckling as Doctor Lu sent him a dirty look. “But I know, no matter how much I’d like to, I can’t help them all. This one it seems like I _might_ be able to help, though, so I’ll try.”

“Okay, please let either me or Yixing know if you need any help, alright?” Doctor Lu said, patting Chanyeol’s arm. “It’s what we’re here for, after all.”

“I will,” Chanyeol promised with a nod of his head, before ducking into a box containing a hyperactive Eurasier hybrid puppy to refill her water. She looked like a little bear, and Chanyeol could not help but spend a bit longer petting the fluffy fur before managing to extract himself.

He was just kind of weak, but he was also kind of very okay with that.

“How’s the bunny doing?” Chanyeol asked as they walked past where the poor animal was resting, unable to see much inside of the cage.

“You know the correct word is rabbit, right?” Doctor Lu asked, shaking his head in amusement. “I’m pretty sure he hates that you call him a bunny, Chanyeol.”

“But he’s tiny and fluffy! Rabbit sounds like something a frog says!” Chanyeol protested, keeping in mind not raising his voice. This was a place for rest and recuperation, after all.

“He’s actually in the normal size range for his type,” Doctor Lu said with a shrug. “Towards the larger end, even. But he’s doing fine, better than we anticipated. Unless something unforeseen happens, he should make a good recovery, but rabbits are pretty fragile naturally, so…”

“We can only pray everything goes well?” Chanyeol said, earning a smile and a nod.

“More or less,” Doctor Lu agreed. “And hope he’s got something to cling to. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s faded away due to lack of motivation to continue to live…”

Frowning at the sombre words, Chanyeol decided to focus on another part of Doctor Lu’s statement. “So, confirmed hybrid?”

Doctor Lu hummed as he nodded, getting closer to the cage to peek inside. “Yes, it’s probably the major reason for why he’s still alive. He seems to be fighting, maybe for a reason, which is great, honestly. There’s hope!”

“I thought there’s always hope?” Chanyeol said, amused by the tiny fist Doctor Lu threw into the air. He really had some of the smallest hands Chanyeol had ever seen on a grown man…

“That’s what we tell ourselves, at least, but in this case it’s real,” Doctor Lu said with a shrug. “Oh, we’ve got company.”

Looking around and not seeing anything, Chanyeol then dropped his eyes to the ground. A fluffy tabby was currently sauntering over towards them, thick tail held high into the air, Chanyeol automatically smiling as he caught sight of it.

The cat began to walk around Chanyeol’s legs, pressing up against him and meowing softly, and Chanyeol was way too soft-hearted to be able to ignore him. So Chanyeol did what he had to do and bent down, giving a quick scratch behind an ear before scooping him up.

“Oh, shit, I’d forgotten how massive you are, Minnie,” Chanyeol groaned as he lifted the cat into the air. “You look tiny but you’re just muscles packed tightly into a small package, huh?”

“Where’s Dae?” Doctor Lu asked, looking around, because it was a bit unusual for Minseok to be stalking around outside of Doctor Lu’s office without the other cat.

Doctor Lu had barely finished his question, though, before loud meows were heard, getting louder as the grey cat appeared in view, tiny legs almost a blur as he rushed over. Chanyeol might very well one day perish from cute at the Elyxion shelter, but he honestly had no problem whatsoever with that.

After his shift had finished, Chanyeol made good on his promise to check up on the stray again. He still had the treats in his backpack, as well as the dished bowl and a fresh bottle of water, more or less all prepared for their second meeting.

Casting quick glances into the first two alleys, Chanyeol mostly skipped over them to get to the third one faster. He had a feeling that the stray seemed to prefer the third one - a feeling that appeared to might be true, as Chanyeol indeed found the stray in the third alley, sitting as if waiting for him.

“Hey, buddy! It’s the friendly neighborhood giant again,” Chanyeol called out with a grin as he made his way into the alley, stopping at about the same way away as the previous day. “You’ve been waiting for me to bring you treats? Greedy, greedy!”

The stray didn’t do anything apart from tilt its head, so Chanyeol chuckled and sat down on the ground, putting his backpack down in front of himself, but this time fixing the water first and pushing it towards the stray.

“Be a good boy and drink all the water again, okay?” Chanyeol prompted, pulling out the bag containing what he knew the stray was waiting for.

And sure enough, sharp eyes immediately focused in on the bag of treats, following it almost desperately, making Chanyeol laugh.

“Are they that good, or are you that starved?” Chanyeol joked, before his words actually registered and he froze in place. “Wait, are you that starved? I should be bringing you some real food or something, shouldn’t I? Ah, shit, I’m so stupid…”

Apparently not wanting to listen to Chanyeol berate himself, the stray gave an impatient bark, startling Chanyeol back to life.

“Okay, okay, chill, you’ll get some,” Chanyeol muttered, opening the bag and throwing a treat, just like the day before, with the stray catching it just as elegantly this time around. “Gotta work a bit on that patience, buddy.”

But the stray ignored his words, instead finishing up the treat before drinking some water, and Chanyeol was honestly more than satisfied with that. Even if he wished he’d thought about some dog food instead of treats, but the stray didn’t seem like it was starving, so it had to get food from somewhere, right? And it didn’t seem sick either, so it was probably somewhat good food, too?

It was a whine this time around that had Chanyeol throw another treat, amusement curling his lips upwards at the new sound being made.

“Not demanding but _begging_ for the treats?” Chanyeol said, chuckling softly. “What will happen the next time I visit, you rolling onto your back to get some?”

Maybe the stray wasn’t too amused by Chanyeol’s joke, considering it barked for more treats, and Chanyeol yet again wondered if maybe it was a hybrid he was dealing with. So far, the stray hadn’t made any efforts to show that it was human - if it actually was - but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t. It might just not want to let Chanyeol know, if that was the case, maybe to protect itself or something like that.

Hopefully, with a bit of time, Chanyeol would either confirm the fully animal status, or be trusted enough to find out that it was a shapeshifter. They were still in the beginnings of their relationship, after all, there was still a lot of steps to take, things to discover! And Chanyeol could be patient when he wanted to, especially about something that had nothing to do with him until this possible hybrid decided that it had. Chanyeol could absolutely wait.

And this became how Chanyeol spent almost every day after his shift for a few weeks - hanging out with a stray and feeding it treats and water, and on occasion something a bit more filling. The first time he brought carefully prepared chicken, Chanyeol was pretty sure he saw the stray actually drool.

The first time the stray got close enough to take a treat out of Chanyeol’s hand, Chanyeol felt a bit like crying. It was quickly followed by the stray sitting down next to Chanyeol instead of a bit away, and Chanyeol actually _did_ tear up a little as he managed to run a hand down the stray’s back, feeling coarse and pretty oily fur beneath his palm. Lowkey disgusting, he couldn’t lie about that, but it was still amazing. He’d gained enough trust to be allowed to touch, and that was a big step for Chanyeol.

Maybe soon he’d even be able to convince the stray to allow him to take it to the shelter, to get a good washing and proper food, and perhaps even some cuddles! After the good washing, of course. Chanyeol had high hopes!


	3. Chapter 3

Parking his bike - as per usual - by the park, Chanyeol hummed happily as he slung his backpack over a shoulder and began his stroll towards the alleys. He had had a good day today, was feeling happier than normal, and hoped that his new little friend had had as good of a day as possible too. After all, the sun was shining and the breeze was warm, had to be hard to have a bad day with this weather, right?

Arriving by the third alley, Chanyeol looked around, not spotting the dog. Not completely unusual, of course, but still. He thought they were on good enough terms that the stray would wait for him at least somewhat visible.

"Buddy? Hello, pup, it's me, your friendly neighborhood giant," Chanyeol called out as he headed deeper, trying to figure out if the stray was actually there or not.

It was through pure luck that he heard the weak whine.

Heart in his throat, Chanyeol whirled around, trying to determine from where the sound came from. And then his heart stopped as he  _ finally _ found what he was looking for.

Sitting propped against a wall, looking seconds away from sliding down to the ground, was the stray. The position was a good giveaway for it not feeling all too well, but it was the  _ blood _ that let Chanyeol know that things were  _ really _ bad.

Gasping, Chanyeol rushed forwards, falling to his knees and ignoring the painful  _ zings _ shooting up his legs, fully focused on the injured dog. Unsure about what to do but needing to do  _ something _ , his hands hovered in the air above the softly trembling body.

“Fuck, this… I need to get you to the shelter, someone needs to take a look at you,” Chanyeol whispered, finally finding the courage to lower a hand to tainted fur - immediately pulling back as the stray flinched beneath his touch. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I just… I’m going to call a friend and borrow his car so I can bring you to someone who can help you, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, not really thinking he would even get one, Chanyeol pulled his phone out of his pocket, eyes darting between the heavily panting animal and the screen to find the contact he was looking for. Wishing and hoping that the other would be able to answer quickly, Chanyeol worried his lower lip as the tone kept beeping into his ear, until finally the call connected.

"Sehun, I need you to come with your car and pick up my bike," Chanyeol rushed out as soon as the other answered.

_ "What? I can't take your bike in my car-" _

"No, I didn't mean-" Chanyeol quickly interrupted Sehun, cutting himself off and groaning in frustration as he dragged a hand through his hair, before trying to as calmly as possible explain. "I need you to bring your car over for me to borrow, and for you to take my bike."

_ "Why do you need to borrow my car?" _ Sehun asked, almost making Chanyeol snap at him. He did  _ not _ have the time for this!

"Because I have an injured stray by my feet that I need to get to the shelter," Chanyeol got out through clenched teeth. The clock was ticking…

_ "Oh… Fucking hell, Park, I  _ just _ had my car cleaned," _ Sehun groaned, but the words and the fact that Chanyeol could hear movement on the other side of the line was enough to let him know that Sehun was on his way.

"Bring blankets," was all Chanyeol said, before clicking the call and sending Sehun his location.

Roughly jamming his phone into his back pocket again, Chanyeol brought his attention back to the injured stray in front of him. Without daring to touch too much, he tried to make a visual estimation of the injuries, wincing at the blood matting the fur and not allowing him to gauge the wounds properly.

What the fuck had happened…?

Thankfully, Sehun didn’t live too far from the park, and since it was just shortly after lunch the rush hour had yet to begin, so it didn’t take many minutes before Chanyeol’s phone vibrated with an incoming text. Pulling the device out, Chanyeol took a look, before he got on his feet.

“Stay here, okay,” Chanyeol told the stray, holding up both hands to demonstrate what he meant. “Don’t move, I’ll be right back!”

The stray huffed a little, and Chanyeol didn’t know if that meant that the stray had understood him or not, but it was good enough. Taking a breath, Chanyeol nodded to himself, and then he rushed out of the alley and towards the park.

Sehun had parked right next to Chanyeol’s bike, stepping out of the large vehicle as Chanyeol got closer.

“Yo, Chanyeollie, what have you gotten yourself into?” was what Sehun greeted him with, having Chanyeol snort. “How do you  _ always _ end up finding injured animals to take care of?”

“Because it’s my job, maybe?” Chanyeol answered as he took off his backpack and threw it into the car. “Did you bring any blankets?”

Stepping up to Chanyeol’s side and softly pushing him out of the way, Sehun opened the door to the backseat that Chanyeol had just closed and reached inside to pull something out.

“Taozi says you better not get this blanket bloody,” Sehun said as he handed over a  _ very _ expensive-looking piece of fabric. “It’s ugly as fuck, though, so I don’t care how much you fuck it up.”

Chanyeol just stared at Sehun in disbelief, before shaking his head and sighing, hurrying back towards the stray. He could hear Sehun following behind him, which was good, because Chanyeol might need the help to get the poor dog to the car without injuring it too much more.

As soon as they came into view, the stray began to growl, teeth bared, looking as if it was trying to get up on its feet.

“Oh, no, don’t you fucking dare!” Chanyeol snapped, worry having pulled his nerves taut, pointing at the stray. “You stay down! He’s a friend of mine!”

The stray continued to growl, but thankfully it stopped trying to push itself into a more threatening position.

“That’s better,” Chanyeol muttered, getting down on his knees again. “His name is Sehun, and he’s here to help. I’m going to move you onto this blanket, and then we’re going to get you to his car so I can get you to someone who can take care of your injuries, okay?”

The growl faded into silence as the stray looked up at Chanyeol, and there was something about the look in its eyes that told Chanyeol that it wasn’t  _ too _ happy about what was about to happen. But it wasn’t trying to fight its way away, so that was something, at least?

“I’m going to try to be as gentle as possible, but this is probably going to hurt,” Chanyeol mumbled as he laid out the blanket in front of the stray. “Please don’t bite me, I really hate being bitten…”

“Do you really think it understands you?” Sehun suddenly spoke up, almost having Chanyeol flinch since he had been too focused and forgotten about his friend.

“Maybe not  _ exactly _ what I’m saying, but if there’s something I’ve learned it’s that they can at least somewhat sense  _ intent _ ,” Chanyeol said as he scooted closer to the stray. “So I talk and tell them what I’m about to do, and hope that at least the intent gets translated.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Sehun said. “What do you need me to do?”

“Help me carry when I’ve gotten my fluffy friend on the blanket,” Chanyeol said, before turning his full focus back to the injured dog. “Okay, buddy, let’s do this! I’m going to lie you down on your side, okay?”

Slowly, making sure that he didn’t make any sudden movements, Chanyeol reached out towards the stray. The stray, in turn, stayed focused on Chanyeol, seemingly not missing a single thing, but staying still as Chanyeol carefully placed his hands on its body. He could feel it trembling beneath his palms, and it had him feel so mean, but he knew that he needed to do this. So, as gently as he could, Chanyeol helped the stray down and over onto its side on the blanket, frowning deeper and deeper with each and every tiny whine he picked up on, softly hushing and wishing he could comfort better.

But finally the stray was safely on the blanket and Chanyeol exhaled in relief, honestly ecstatic about not having been bitten. A working hazard of his was teeth and claws to his flesh, but that was something he had never gotten quite used to, and one of the things he hated the most.

“There we go, we’re done with that part, just relax now,” Chanyeol soothingly whispered as he rubbed a thumb in between the stray’s eyes, watching as its eyelids closed. It was panting heavily, probably in quite the bit of pain, and Chanyeol needed to get it out of there as soon as possible. “We’re going to lift you and carry you over to Sehun’s car so we can get you to help, okay?”

Immediately, the stray’s eyes flew open, once again making Chanyeol think that this might be something  _ else _ than just a regular dog.

“We’ll be careful, I promise,” Chanyeol said, before looking over towards Sehun. “Grab the edges by its hindlegs. We’re going to have to try to keep the fabric as stretched as possible, to not distort its body too much.”

Nodding, Sehun walked over and squatted down, grabbing the blanket and looking up at Chanyeol as he waited. Mirroring Sehun, Chanyeol glanced down at the stray, before he looked up at Sehun and nodded.

As one, they slowly stood up, keeping as much tension as possible between their hands, to not jostle the wounded animal too much. Working together, they made their way out of the alley and over to Sehun car. There were a few passerbys sending them curious looks, but most of the overly stressed population of Seoul did not care about what they were doing.

“Can you unlock and open the door, or should we put it down?” Chanyeol asked, voice as strained as his muscles felt. It wasn’t the lightest dog he’d ever had to carry, he had to say, how had it managed to stay so solid living on the streets of Seoul?

“I can manage,” Sehun answered, huffing a little as he changed his grip, and Chanyeol was happy to know that he wasn’t the only one struggling.

After some more struggling of them both, they managed to get the car open and the stray inside. Taking a few deep breaths and wiping the sweat off of his brow, Chanyeol turned to Sehun, who was looking a bit hesitant.

“Maybe I should drive, so you can sit in the backseat with the dog, hyung?” Sehun suggested, still holding the keys in his hand. “I think you’d be a bit too distracted, and I prefer my car in mint condition, you know. Plus, you’d be able to make sure the dog stays still and doesn’t get even more injured. I can take care of your bike afterwards.”

Biting down on his lower lip, Chanyeol glanced over towards his bike, before he looked down at the stray. Tilting its head, the stray blinked up at Chanyeol, and just like that, his decision was made.

“I don’t care what he says, Tao isn’t allowed to drive my bike,” was what Chanyeol said as he slid into the backseat and arranged himself and the stray to be able to hold on to it as comfortably as possible.

Only chuckling, Sehun got into the driver’s seat and started the car, and the lack of verbal confirmation worried Chanyeol. Sehun was lucky Chanyeol’s hands were full at the moment, and would be for some time ahead.

The drive to the shelter was thankfully uneventful, and after helping Chanyeol get the stray inside, Sehun left with the promise of taking care of Chanyeol’s beloved bike and  _ not _ letting Tao handle it. Chanyeol loved Sehun’s boyfriend, he was a dear friend, but the Chinese could be notoriously clumsy,  _ especially _ with valuable things. It had always amused Chanyeol, considering Tao was a badass Wushu god, but he guessed everyone had their flaws, and Tao’s major flaw was stupid like that.

Since Doctor Zhang was currently busy and the stray’s condition was not bad enough to be an emergency, they had to wait for a while. And since the stray seemed a bit anxious, Chanyeol decided to sit down on the floor and try to calm it down, petting wherever it didn’t seem too injured. It seemed to help, and they stayed like that, Chanyeol petting and the stray just breathing - until the door opened and Doctor Zhang entered alongside Jongin.

And then stray was suddenly moving, pushing back against Chanyeol, who instinctively wrapped his arms around it to hold it still, surprised and confused about what was going on.

“Hey, hey, stay still!” Chanyeol tried to calm the dog, holding on as firmly as possible whilst trying not to hurt it even more. “It’s okay, they’re here to help! You need to calm down, you’re going to hurt yourself more! Why are you suddenly so agitated?”

“It’s my fault,” Jongin spoke up, squatting down a bit away. “He sees this as my territory, and he doesn’t want to challenge my claim, so he wants to get out of here.”

Chanyeol’s eyebrows drew together in a frown of confusion. “But, what?  _ Is _ this your territory?”

Jongin shook his head. “It’s not, but I’m not surprised he thinks it might be,” he said, giving a small shrug. “My scent is all over the place, more concentrated than it would be for a patient since I spend so much time here. And since he’s not quite in fighting shape he’d rather get out of here than be seen as a threat to be dealt with. Survival instincts, you know.”

During Jongin’s explanation, the stray had started to calm down at least partially, still tense in Chanyeol’s arms, but now not trying to tear himself apart to get away.

“Ah,” Chanyeol said, looking down at the creature in his arms and scratching behind an ear - one of the few places he actually dared to touch without necessity dictating it. “It’s okay, he’s a nice wolf, he’s here to help you, too.”

The stray huffed, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but imagine it being a snort. And from how Jongin smiled, it seemed he was thinking the same.

“Are we all calm and good?” Doctor Zhang spoke up, looking down at Jongin in question.

“As much as we can be, I think,” Jongin answered, standing up and moving behind the doctor to let him get closer. “He’s a hybrid.”

Chanyeol startled a little, because even though he’d had his suspicions, it was still a whole other thing having them confirmed. Doctor Zhang merely raised an eyebrow, not too fazed about this detail. Hybrids were far from unusual patients for him.

“Well then, that probably makes things easier, since you’re able to understand me more than some of my other patients,” Doctor Zhang said, smiling in his near-patented comforting way. “I’m Doctor Zhang Yixing, and I’ll do my best to take care of you, if you allow me.”

The stray - the stray  _ hybrid _ \- was still tense against Chanyeol, but he appeared to be calming down a little more, making Chanyeol give Doctor Zhang a tiny smile to show him that he should continue to talk, which the doctor did.

“This is Jongin,” Doctor Zhang said, still with the same patient, dimpled smile on his lips as he gestured towards the large wolf-dog currently in human form. “He’s my assistant, here to help me help you.”

Jongin was not actually  _ really _ Doctor Zhang’s assistant, not having the education or anything beside some minor experience to qualify him, but he did help, especially with the more troublesome patients since he had the ability to on some level understand them more than the humans around could. And the fact that he always stuck close to the doctor further enforced his unofficial assistant status, to the point where everyone saw him as one of the assistants anyway.

“Would you allow us to move you onto the examination table? If you feel safer being examined down here, we can make it work too, but it would be easier up there,” Doctor Zhang said, inclining his head in the direction of the examination table.

The hybrid turned his head enough to be able to see the examination table, before lowering it in what appeared to be a nod. Through the combined forces of all three currently human men - Jongin having been allowed to join in after a quick staring contest ending after a few blinks - it didn’t take long before the hybrid was up on the examination table.

“Should I go wait outside, or?” Chanyeol asked, having no idea what to do, as he rubbed the area between the stray’s eyes in the way that seemed to be calming him.

On one hand, and it wasn’t as if Chanyeol wasn’t qualified to help - but on the other, he had personal and emotional connections to the stray now, so maybe he shouldn’t be present?

“It’s up to what your new friend wants, really,” Doctor Zhang said, glancing up at Chanyeol for a moment before looking down at the stray again. “If you want him to, Chanyeol can stay, but I promise you that we’ll take care good care of you no matter what,” Doctor Zhang told the stray, as Chanyeol began to pull his hand back.

Three things happened in quick succession. One, the stray's head snapped up to clamp teeth around Chanyeol's retreating hand. Two, Doctor Zhang moved to try to free Chanyeol from the hold. And three, Jongin wrapped a hand around the doctor's wrist to hold him back.

"It's fine, he's not hurting him," Jongin mumbled, and it was then that Chanyeol let the air he had been holding out in a shaky breath.

Because it was true. As the shock began to fade, Chanyeol realized that the bite  _ wasn't _ hurting. It was uncomfortable, from the honestly rather clumsy way the stray had captured his hand, but it was obvious it wasn't to  _ hurt _ Chanyeol.

Eyebrows drawing together in confusion, Doctor Zhang glanced over at Jongin, before looking at Chanyeol in question.

“He’s not,” Chanyeol assured as he shook his head. “Just a bit uncomfortable. But I think he wants me to stay?”

Doctor Zhang stayed silent and just watching for a while, before he slowly nodded to himself, as if he had made sure that there wasn’t actually any damage being done. “That’s fine, like I said, as long as everyone is okay with it, Chanyeol can stay.”

After having gotten that confirmation, the stray seemed to relax, loosening his hold on Chanyeol’s hand. Chanyeol stayed still, and it didn’t take long until the stray fully let go - just to gently lick Chanyeol’s hand. As if to say  _ ‘sorry’ _ without being able to use words, and Chanyeol felt warmth fill him at the action.

_ This _ was one of the things that made Chanyeol’s job so worth it.

“I’m going to touch you, and it’s going to hurt, but I need to examine the extent of your injuries so please try to bear with it,” Doctor Zhang said as he began to work, adopting his honestly rather comforting doctor voice. “No need to bite me if it gets unbearable, a simple growl would be very much preferred and I’ll stop. Did you get into a fight? Over territory? Younglings, always so hot-headed…”

The hybrid suddenly began to growl, and Chanyeol was pretty sure it wasn’t because of any pain, was pretty sure Doctor Zhang knew this too from how he smiled, but he did as promised and removed his hands, holding them in the air until the hybrid stopped growling before resuming his examination.

“We’re going to do an X-ray on you, to make sure you don’t have any fractures,” Doctor Zhang continued, mumbling a quick apology when the stray gave a soft whine. “It doesn’t seem like it, but we’ll need to make sure, especially about any incomplete fractures that could become full fractures if we don’t keep an eye on them. I’m going to give you some pain relief medication and a sedative to help you keep calm as we take care of your injuries. So far it doesn’t seem like you require surgery, so we’re not going to make you fall asleep, only relax a bit. Does that sound okay?”

The stray gave a small whine, moving his head in something resembling a nod, so Doctor Zhang moved away to gather what he needed, Jongin going to let one of the vet nurses know about the needed X-ray. Normally, both getting the supplies and letting the nurse know was something Chanyeol would do, but he felt like he should stay with the stray, and it seemed like the others agreed with that.

They had to wait a bit in between the administration of the medication and the X-ray, Chanyeol spending it mumbling to the stray about the other animals currently at the shelter that he helped take care of. Doctor Zhang and Jongin had disappeared to take care of another appointment, promising to be back after all of the images had been taken, to continue the care.

“And then we have Seulgi, she’s one of the most adorable puppies I’ve ever seen, it’s so sad that people think it’s okay to just  _ discard _ beings they’ve adopted, after realizing it actually takes a lot of work to take care of someone else,” Chanyeol muttered, feeling the familiar anger rising inside of him. “Why not take them back to their family? To a shelter? See if someone else can take care of them instead? People really are idiots… We don’t even actually know for sure what happened to her, she still hasn’t shifted, she’s still so young, but she’s so happy at every little scrap of attention that she gets…”

“Do I need to get some tissues for you?” someone suddenly spoke up, startling Chanyeol. He could feel the hybrid beneath him move, but it was sluggish, only a low rumble making his chest vibrate beneath Chanyeol’s palm.

“Ah, Joohyun-ah, you scared me,” Chanyeol wheezed, exhaling heavily, his free hand pressed against his heart. “Don’t do that!”

The vet nurse snickered softly as she walked into the room, patting Chanyeol’s head as she got close enough.

“I’m sorry, but you were pretty deep into your rant when I got here,” Joohyun said, before looking down at the stray with a gentle smile. “I’m sorry you had to suffer through that, Chanyeollie gets very passionate about many things, but I’m here to save you now.”

The stray huffed, and Chanyeol had no idea if it was out of amusement or something else, but he did feel a bit betrayed.

“Stop pouting and help me get our new patient to the X-ray so we can help quicker,” Joohyun said, a hint of playful sternness to her voice that had Chanyeol pout even more just for the hell of it.

So maybe he was the baby of the shelter (at least the human one), what about it?

The wait between the X-ray and the return of Doctor Zhang and Jongin wasn’t as long, the duo showing up again shortly after Chanyeol and the stray had returned to the examination room. Accepting the X-rays from Joohyun with a soft thank you, Doctor Zhang took a look at them, eyebrows pulling together above the rim of his glasses.

“It doesn’t appear like there’s any complete fractures, thankfully,” Doctor Zhang mumbled, squinting at some areas. “I’m worried about some things, though, so you’re not going to be running around for a while, unfortunately. Anyway, I see no indications of any surgery being needed, so the next step is patching up the few wounds you have.”

Feeling like he needed to do something, be at least a bit useful, Chanyeol began to move around the room to gather supplies. It did not take long before he heard a faint whine, heart clenching at the pitiful sound.

“Don’t worry, he’s still here, he’s just getting some things and then he’ll be back,” Doctor Zhang soothed, giving Chanyeol the strength to resist rushing to the hybrid’s side immediately and instead finish up what he was doing.

It honestly didn’t take long to get everything and get back, Chanyeol soon being by the hybrid’s side again, petting in apology as Doctor Zhang began to prepare.

“I can’t say I’m particularly happy about leaving these piercings here,” Doctor Zhang muttered to himself as he checked the stray’s ears, “but since you’re actually a being who can consent to getting them there’s nothing much I can do about them… There is one that’s been partially pulled out, though, that I need to stitch closed.”

The stray let out a kind of rumbling sound, not quite a growl, but obviously a protest nevertheless.

“Unfortunately you don’t have a say in this, you can get pierced again when this has healed,” Doctor Zhang said, voice leaving no room for debate as he continued with the treatment.

A detailed examination, several stitches, and an hour later, the stray was finally done. And so was Chanyeol, feeling all wrung out emotionally.

“There we go, we’re done,” Doctor Zhang softly said as he began to put things away, Jongin helping. “Rest for now, and we’ll deal with the needed things.”

“Okay, thank you,” Chanyeol said, offering the vet a smile.

A hand appeared in Chanyeol’s hair, and he leaned his head back to find Jongin smiling down at him.

“There’s no need to thank us, this is what we do, you know that,” Jongin said, gaze flickering over to the hybrid. “We take care of those who need it.”

With another smile, Chanyeol nodded, because he knew that, he was a part of the help normally, but this time it was different. In the other cases, he was just the vet assistant trying his best to help a patient he probably had never met before, and maybe never would meet again. This time,  _ he _ was the one that brought the being in need of help in,  _ he _ had an emotional stake in this far past the usual pity and sympathy of who or whatever they received.

After they’d cleaned up, Doctor Zhang and Jongin left, leaving Chanyeol and the stray alone once more.

“Hey, buddy, how are you doing?” Chanyeol whispered a few minutes after the door had closed, gently untangling some of the fur, making sure to stay far away from the stitched wounds.

Tiredly, the hybrid moved his head enough to be able to look up at Chanyeol with oh so very exhausted eyes.

“Yeah, I know, it can’t have been fun… I’m so sorry you had to go through that, pup,” Chanyeol continued, heart still aching. “But you’re safe now, okay? All patched up, warm and sheltered, and there’s going to be fresh water and food for you when you’re feeling better. And we’re going to do our best to get you as healthy as possible, and get you into a loving home, I promise you that.”

The stray continued to stare at Chanyeol throughout his little impassioned monologue, so attentive even when still affected by the drugs. A few seconds went past after Chanyeol had stopped talking, before the stray huffed and closed his eyes, pressing his head harder against Chanyeol’s hand - and Chanyeol was a tiny bit  ~~ very much ~~ more sold.

This was  _ not _ going to end well for Chanyeol’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it obvious I have no idea how medical stuff works?


End file.
